Trump Wants Obama Prosecuted for Treason over Alleged Manipulation of Intelligence on Russia
Donald Trump on Tuesday leveled accusations of “treason” against his predecessor, Barack Obama, and called for his prosecution over a report alleging that officials within the Democratic administration manipulated intelligence concerning Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard has submitted criminal referrals to the Justice Department pertaining to a report released Friday, which claimed that Obama officials were involved in a “treasonous conspiracy.”
Gabbard alleged that Obama and his team fabricated intelligence regarding Russian election interference to “establish the groundwork for what amounted to a prolonged coup against President Trump.”
Her assertions contradict the findings of four distinct criminal, counterintelligence, and watchdog investigations conducted between 2019 and 2023, all of which determined that Russia indeed intervened in favor of Trump during the 2016 election.
During an Oval Office press event with visiting Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, the Republican leader was asked whom the department should target based on the report.
“Based on what I read—and I read pretty much what you read—it would be President Obama. He initiated it,” said Trump, who faced criticism on Monday for sharing an AI-generated video depicting Obama being arrested.
Trump also identified Obama’s then-vice president Joe Biden, former FBI director James Comey, former DNI director James Clapper, and former CIA director John Brennan as participants in a conspiracy.
However, he stated that the “leader of the gang” was Obama, accusing him of “treason.”
Trump has maintained since their inception that the various investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election—and his own campaign’s involvement—were a “hoax.”
A bipartisan report by the Senate Intelligence Committee—led by then acting chairman Marco Rubio, now Trump’s secretary of state—concluded in 2020 that the Trump campaign aimed to “maximize the impact” of leaks of Democratic documents stolen by Russian military intelligence.
The objective of the hack was to aid Trump and undermine Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election.
“It is our conclusion… that the Russian intelligence services’ assault on the integrity of the 2016 US electoral process, and Trump and his associates’ participation in and facilitation of this Russian activity, constitutes one of the most serious counterintelligence threats to American national security in the modern era,” the report stated.
